Comparison of cardiac computed tomography examination appropriateness under the 2010 revised versus the 2006 original Appropriate Use Criteria.

Background: The 2006 Cardiac CT Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) were recently revised in 2010. In addition to rating an expanded number of indications, the new criteria adjusted the appropriateness of existing indications to reflect changes in clinical practice and new evidence since 2006.

Objective: We sought to determine how the appropriateness of cardiac CT examinations performed at a tertiary-care hospital changed under the revised criteria compared with the original AUC.

Candida albicans isolation from buccal mucosa of patients with HIV wearing removable dental prostheses.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of complete or partial removable dental prostheses (RDPs) on the frequency of Candida albicans isolated from the mouth and the presence of oral candidiasis in human immunodeficiency virus-positive (HIV+) patients correlated with CD4 levels.

Materials And Methods: One hundred ninety-three HIV+ patients were evaluated; 68 had RDPs and 125 did not. CD4 cell count was obtained after blood sampling and performed on the day of clinical examination.

Synovial sarcoma in children and adolescents: a critical reappraisal of staging investigations in relation to the rate of metastatic involvement at diagnosis.

Background: European protocols for paediatric synovial sarcoma (SS) require that all children routinely undergo chest computed tomography (CT) scanning and bone scanning as initial staging procedures. This study aims to determine the rate of initial metastases in paediatric SS based on specific clinical characteristics, thereby investigating whether these diagnostic procedures are really necessary in all patients.

Methods: Data on 258 previously-untreated SS patients <21 years old were pooled from the databases of different European paediatric groups (study period 1988-2005) for this analysis, and the associations between patients' characteristics and any presence of metastasis were estimated.

Diagnostic utility of human cytomegalovirus-specific T-cell response monitoring in predicting viremia in pediatric allogeneic stem-cell transplant patients.

Background: Several studies proved that virus-specific T-cells play a pivotal role in controlling cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in adult allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplant (HSCT) patients. Fewer data are available in pediatric HSCT settings, when immature and inexperienced immune system may affect antiviral immune reconstitution.

Methods: We analyzed prospectively the CMV-specific T-cell reconstitution in a cohort of 31 pediatric allogeneic HSCT recipients at 30, 60, 90, 120, 180, and 360 days after HSCT.

Neurodevelopmental functioning in very young children undergoing treatment for non-CNS cancers.

Objective: We initiated a prospective study of very young children with cancer, in comparison with matched healthy children, to investigate neurodevelopmental consequences of non-CNS cancers and treatment.

Methods: A total of 61 children (≤42 months) with non-CNS cancers and 61 matched controls underwent an identical age-appropriate neuropsychological test battery.

Results: Children with cancer manifested deficits compared to healthy controls in motor, mental, and language development, but were similar to controls in cognitive representational abilities and emotional relationships in interaction with their mothers.

Patient management after noninvasive cardiac imaging results from SPARC (Study of myocardial perfusion and coronary anatomy imaging roles in coronary artery disease).

Objectives: This study examined short-term cardiac catheterization rates and medication changes after cardiac imaging.

Background: Noninvasive cardiac imaging is widely used in coronary artery disease, but its effects on subsequent patient management are unclear.

Methods: We assessed the 90-day post-test rates of catheterization and medication changes in a prospective registry of 1,703 patients without a documented history of coronary artery disease and an intermediate to high likelihood of coronary artery disease undergoing cardiac single-photon emission computed tomography, positron emission tomography, or 64-slice coronary computed tomography angiography.

Comparison of the Diamond-Forrester method and Duke Clinical Score to predict obstructive coronary artery disease by computed tomographic angiography.

We sought to evaluate the ability of the Diamond and Forrester method (DFM) and the Duke Clinical Score (DCS) to predict obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) on coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA) and the effect of these different risk scores on the appropriateness level using the 2010 Appropriate Use Criteria. Consecutive symptomatic patients who underwent CCTA for evaluation of CAD (n = 114) were classified as having a low, intermediate, or high pretest probability using the DFM and DCS. Using the Appropriate Use Criteria, the indications for CCTA were classified according to the pretest probability and previous testing.

PET/MRI of inflammation in myocardial infarction.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore post-myocardial infarction (MI) myocardial inflammation.

Background: Innate immune cells are centrally involved in infarct healing and are emerging therapeutic targets in cardiovascular disease; however, clinical tools to assess their presence in tissue are scarce. Furthermore, it is currently not known if the nonischemic remote zone recruits monocytes.

2-D DIGE analysis of UV-C radiation-responsive proteins in globe artichoke leaves.

Plants respond to ultraviolet stress inducing a self-defence through the regulation of specific gene family members. The UV acclimation is the result of biochemical and physiological processes, such as enhancement of the antioxidant enzymatic system and accumulation of UV-absorbing phenolic compounds (e.g.

Diagnostic performance of combined noninvasive coronary angiography and myocardial perfusion imaging using 320 row detector computed tomography: design and implementation of the CORE320 multicenter, multinational diagnostic study.

Multidetector coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) is a promising modality for widespread clinical application because of its noninvasive nature and high diagnostic accuracy as found in previous studies using 64 to 320 simultaneous detector rows. It is, however, limited in its ability to detect myocardial ischemia. In this article, we describe the design of the CORE320 study ("Combined coronary atherosclerosis and myocardial perfusion evaluation using 320 detector row computed tomography").

Dorsal-striatal 5-HT₂A and 5-HT₂C receptors control impulsivity and perseverative responding in the 5-choice serial reaction time task.

Rational: Prefrontal cortex (PFC) and dorsal striatum are part of the neural circuit critical for executive attention. The relationship between 5-HT and aspects of attention and executive control is complex depending on experimental conditions and the level of activation of different 5-HT receptors within the nuclei of corticostriatal circuitry.

Objective: The present study investigated which 5-HT(2A) and 5-HT(2C) receptors in the dorsomedial-striatum (dm-STR) contribute to executive attention deficit induced by blockade of NMDA receptors in the PFC.

Long-term results in childhood rhabdomyosarcoma: a report from the Italian Cooperative Study RMS 79.

Background: The results obtained by protocols for children with rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) have improved in recent decades. Survival curves usually reach a plateau 3 years after the diagnosis, suggesting that long-term survival can be expected, but late events are known to occur. We analyzed the long-term results of the RMS 79 protocol to investigate the type and impact of such events.

Distinct Changes in CREB Phosphorylation in Frontal Cortex and Striatum During Contingent and Non-Contingent Performance of a Visual Attention Task.

The cyclic-adenosine monophosphate response element-binding protein (CREB) family of transcription factors has been implicated in numerous forms of behavioral plasticity. We investigated CREB phosphorylation along some nodes of corticostriatal circuitry such as frontal cortex (FC) and dorsal (caudate-putamen, CPu) and ventral (nucleus accumbens, NAC) striatum in response to the contingent or non-contingent performance of the five-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT) used to assess visuospatial attention. Three experimental manipulations were used; an attentional performance group (contingent, "master"), a group trained previously on the task but for whom the instrumental contingency coupling responding with stimulus detection and reward was abolished (non-contingent, "yoked") and a control group matched for food deprivation and exposure to the test apparatus (untrained).

Improved cardiac risk assessment with noninvasive measures of coronary flow reserve.

Background: Impaired vasodilator function is an early manifestation of coronary artery disease and may precede angiographic stenosis. It is unknown whether noninvasive assessment of coronary vasodilator function in patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease carries incremental prognostic significance.

Methods And Results: A total of 2783 consecutive patients referred for rest/stress positron emission tomography were followed up for a median of 1.

Quantitative relationship between the extent and morphology of coronary atherosclerotic plaque and downstream myocardial perfusion.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to quantify the effects of coronary atherosclerosis morphology and extent on myocardial flow reserve (MFR).

Background: Although the relationship between coronary stenosis and myocardial perfusion is well established, little is known about the contribution of other anatomic descriptors of atherosclerosis burden to this relationship.

Methods: We evaluated the relationship between atherosclerosis plaque burden, morphology, and composition and regional MFR (MFR(regional)) in 73 consecutive patients undergoing Rubidium-82 positron emission tomography and coronary computed tomography angiography for the evaluation of known or suspected coronary artery disease.

Cardiac PET/CT for the evaluation of known or suspected coronary artery disease.

Positron emission tomography (PET) is increasingly being applied in the evaluation of myocardial perfusion. Cardiac PET can be performed with an increasing variety of cyclotron- and generator-produced radiotracers. Compared with single photon emission computed tomography, PET offers lower radiation exposure, fewer artifacts, improved spatial resolution, and, most important, improved diagnostic performance.

Shrimp allergy in Italian adults: a multicenter study showing a high prevalence of sensitivity to novel high molecular weight allergens.

Background: Shrimp is a frequent cause of food allergy worldwide. Besides tropomyosin, several allergens have been described recently.

Objective: We investigated which allergens are involved in Italian shrimp-allergic adults.

High-mobility group box-1 impairs memory in mice through both toll-like receptor 4 and Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products.

High-mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) is a nuclear protein with cytokine-type functions upon its extracellular release. HMGB1 activates inflammatory pathways by stimulating multiple receptors, chiefly toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products (RAGE). TLR4 and RAGE activation has been implicated in memory impairments, although the endogenous ligand subserving these effects is unknown.

Coronary circulatory function in patients with the metabolic syndrome.

Unlabelled: The metabolic syndrome affects 25% of the U.S. population and greatly increases the risk of diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD).

Stress myocardial perfusion imaging by CMR provides strong prognostic value to cardiac events regardless of patient's sex.

Objectives: The major aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that stress cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging can provide robust prognostic value in women presenting with suspected ischemia, to the same extent as in men.

Background: Compelling evidence indicates that women with coronary artery disease (CAD) experience worse outcomes than men owing to a lack of early diagnosis and management. Numerous clinical studies have shown that stress CMR detects evidence of myocardial ischemia and infarction at high accuracy.

Hypoxia but not inflammation augments glucose uptake in human macrophages: Implications for imaging atherosclerosis with 18fluorine-labeled 2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography.

Objectives: This study investigated the regulation of glucose uptake in cells that participate in atherogenesis by stimuli relevant to this process, to gain mechanistic insight into the origin of the (18)fluorine-labeled 2-deoxy-D-glucose (FdG) uptake signals observed clinically.

Background: Patient studies suggest that positron emission tomography (PET) using FdG can detect "active" atherosclerotic plaques, yet the mechanism giving rise to FdG signals remains unknown.

Methods: We exposed cells to conditions thought to operate in atheroma and determined rates of glucose uptake.

Rhabdomyosarcoma in adolescents: a report from the AIEOP Soft Tissue Sarcoma Committee.

Background: In many types of cancer, the survival rates are reported to be less favorable for adolescents compared with younger children. To investigate whether this is true for adolescents with rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), the results obtained in patients enrolled in protocols run by the Italian Soft Tissue Sarcoma Committee (STSC) were analyzed.

Methods: From 1988 through 2005, 643 patients were registered (567 children ages birth-14 years and 76 adolescents ages 15-19 years) and treated in 4 STSC protocols.

Eliciting adaptive emotion in conversations with parents of children receiving therapy for leukemia.

Clinician-parent communication may often be difficult, especially soon after the diagnosis. The aims of this article are to identify the communication strategies associated with expressions of adaptive emotions in parents and to explore the effect of the type of leukemia and of parent's gender on parents' expressions of emotions. The data are obtained from 4.